⋙ Read Voice of the Whirlwind Walter Jon Williams 9780812519242 Books

Voice of the Whirlwind Walter Jon Williams 9780812519242 Books

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Voice of the Whirlwind Walter Jon Williams 9780812519242 Books

Williams' work is many-facetted, from a grand saga of galactic empires to rival the best from the classic age of scifi to the entertaining and slightly silly adventures of Drake Maijstral, nobleman, seducer, magician, and allowed thief. In-between are other gems, among which is this novel. This is a hardcore scifi work, with an alien race, interplanetary travel, hi-tech accessories, and the like. Its universe is dominated by aliens power struggles and large human corporations and conflicts are settled through the deployment of mercenaries. People still die, but they can have bodies regrown and mind contents stored, so rebirth is possible, with all of the attending complications. The main character is one of these mercenaries and we follow him as he slowly comes to understand how things work around him and throughout the solar system. Along the way, we go to space stations, small distant planets, arcologies, and get to discover many subcultures. The most striking aspects of this book are the dogged persistence and toughness of the main character (humor is not his strong suit -- this guy has real gravitas) and the contrast it offers to the kaleidoscope of artifacts, cultures, and personalities the author has him (and us) encounter. The combination is one that many authors have attempted and failed to pull off, but Williams does it brilliantly here. Highly recommended.


Tags : Voice of the Whirlwind [Walter Jon Williams] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Steward, a beta clone with a limited memory, realizes that in the fifteen years since his last brain scan update the Orbital Policorp has collapsed and dozens of his friends have died in an off-planet war that he somehow survived. Reissue.,Walter Jon Williams,Voice of the Whirlwind,Tom Doherty Assoc Llc,0812519248,1002276815,Science Fiction - General,Science fiction.,American Science Fiction And Fantasy,Fantasy,Fiction,Fiction - Science Fiction,Fiction Science Fiction General,Science Fiction

Voice of the Whirlwind Walter Jon Williams 9780812519242 Books Reviews

I've read this book 3 times so far and it always is a pleasure. On the edition, Voice's $5 cost is a bargain.

It is as once relentlessly violent and quite touching. Loved the multiple plot twists at the end.

Some things stuck in my head after my most recent read...

Clone Steward looks for his past love, Nathalie. Finds her by the middle of the book. She rebuffs his attempts to get together again and that really pains him. Even if, due to him being a revived clone, she is at least 10 years his senior and sickly looking from years in zero-g.

Steward's Alpha, who arranged at great cost for clone insurance, never updates his memories which would have been cheap & easy. That seems to surprise everyone who learns about it and is never really explained. I've come to think it a gift, rather than neglect - not wanting to burden the clone with the traumatic memories of Sheol, where he fought a vicious guerrilla war against rival corporations.

Along with Neuromancer & Stand on Zanzibar, I consider this one of the seminal novels of cyberpunk. Contrary to much SF, it has aged quite well. Part of it is that it keeps the techno-babble to a minimum while privileging plot, solid character development and well-done descriptions and world-building. Plus Steward has a soul and ethics, even if it is made clear to him that he was chosen precisely because his worldview made him a target for manipulation. While not very frequent, the action scenes are superb.

Always been a huge fan of Mr. Williams and this is one of his finest books, along with Aristoi. Hardwired, which some prefer, is another cyberpunk novel of his. But I personally find it much more impersonal and predictable in its themes. There was also an allusion to the themes of Angel Station, where first contact can be an opportunity to get an advantage within your own race.
It's weird that I read WJW's later work (e.g., Praxis novels) but never his early stuff (other than excellent "Sarah Runs the Weasel," in Omni back in 1986, which turned out to be a trial run for Hardwired). Turns out his early works are outstanding, while the later stuff like the Dread Empire's Fall series left me a bit flat (though I read the whole series...). One of the constructs of the Praxis is the extreme rigidity of the Shaa empire and the resultant rigid thinking this has engendered in their subjugate races, so maybe it's just this central premise that puts me off. But in Voice of the Whirlwind (and Hardwired), it's full throttle wildly creative hard edged story telling at it's finest! Wow, am I glad to be discovering the earlier works now!

I find it particularly interesting that Williams switched from writing nautical historical fiction to SF, and that he outlined six stories he felt he finally had the freedom to write in his newly adopted genre (quoting from Williams below)

"A future in which everything went right. (This became my novel Knight Moves.)
A future in which everything went wrong. (This became Hardwired.)
A mystery/thriller. (Voices of the Whirlwind)
A first-contact story. (Angel Station)
A Restoration-style comedy of manners. (The Crown Jewels and its sequels)
A hard-boiled mystery. (Days of Atonement)"

Voice of the Whirlwind is one of these original six SF story lines, and what a story it is!

Voice's protagonist is a wonderfully complex character seeking both identity and ultimately the righting of some wrongs that he takes extremely personally, (though he has to discover what they are, first!). No black and white characterizations here, but I really loved the character of Steward, reminded me a bit of Richard K. Morgan's later Takeshi Kovacs, and with a nice tip of the hat to Felix at end of John Steakley's slightly earlier novel Armor.

So, if you enjoy this kind of damaged and violent hero in all their frustrating complexity, Voice of the Whirlwind is a great choice.

I've now put Hardwired and Angel Station under my belt as well, both excellent in their own right, and will be making my way through all six of the story lines with which Williams started his SF career. One of the things I do notice with Williams is that he is very patient with his character building, especially early in the novels. Sometimes this comes across as a bit too much inward focus, but just when I'm about to resent it, the next major plot twist or crisis comes along and keeps it moving. And I've truly loved all three endings, highly satisfying.

Here's hoping for more 5 Star experiences!
Williams' work is many-facetted, from a grand saga of galactic empires to rival the best from the classic age of scifi to the entertaining and slightly silly adventures of Drake Maijstral, nobleman, seducer, magician, and allowed thief. In-between are other gems, among which is this novel. This is a hardcore scifi work, with an alien race, interplanetary travel, hi-tech accessories, and the like. Its universe is dominated by aliens power struggles and large human corporations and conflicts are settled through the deployment of mercenaries. People still die, but they can have bodies regrown and mind contents stored, so rebirth is possible, with all of the attending complications. The main character is one of these mercenaries and we follow him as he slowly comes to understand how things work around him and throughout the solar system. Along the way, we go to space stations, small distant planets, arcologies, and get to discover many subcultures. The most striking aspects of this book are the dogged persistence and toughness of the main character (humor is not his strong suit -- this guy has real gravitas) and the contrast it offers to the kaleidoscope of artifacts, cultures, and personalities the author has him (and us) encounter. The combination is one that many authors have attempted and failed to pull off, but Williams does it brilliantly here. Highly recommended.